Wilsons give new life to an old house

“Would I do it again? I sure would!”
Kathy Wilson was explaining all the renovations and interior decoration she has done to the large two-story house she and her husband, Kirk, moved from U.S. 61 to their property at 54228 Trabue Lane on Sept. 27, 2005.
“It is everything we ever hoped it would be,” she continued. This landmark house was moved after Tom Marx bought the property of the former Harris Stables, where he now has a fireworks business.
Kathy said the home was built in 1934 by Dr. Opp, a dentist, who sold it to the Harris family in 1957.
After Marx bought it, the Wilsons knew he would either demolish the house or sell it to be moved. Kathy asked Marx about selling it to them, and he agreed, but told her it would need to be moved in three months.
The Wilsons lived about two miles away on Tribue Lane, where they had 112 acres, so they sold the house that had been their home, and kept six acres (a former hayfield) for their new location.
Because of the size of the house, they knew moving it would require special skill. After talking to some home movers, they eventually learned about the Expert House Movers, which had been featured on the TV history channel. After the Wilsons contacted this company, it agreed to move their house.
Before it was moved, “we were afraid it would crack and fall apart,” Kathy said. “But the biggest challenge was trying to find somebody to move it.”

Move complete
in three hours
The two-mile move was done in about three hours, Kathy explained. “The house weighed 100 tons when it was loaded.” It was put on wheels and pulled with a truck, even crossing a creek. But first “they had to trim trees and take power lines down,” she said.
A basement had to be added under the house, so it was stacked up 12 feet when it arrived, Kathy said. Then the basement was dug and poured, and “we had to wait eight weeks for the concrete to cure.”
The house held up well during the move, she said, with the fireplace remaining unharmed, and even a large mirror staying on one wall.
The columns on the front of the house were replaced, and the concrete two-car garage was not moved, but the remainder of the house is the same.
“It took a lot of time, a lot of money and a lot of patience,” Kathy said, “but I would highly recommend it. Find a good contractor and be patient.
“Kevin Jackson did the whole outside. Mark Goodwin did the shingles. Other than that, we have done everything ourselves.” The wood siding was replaced with vinyl siding that looks the same, she said.
Once they moved in, she started redoing every room, and she and Kirk did a lot of landscaping to their yard and grounds, despite their careers. She works for Hannibal Dental Group, and he works at Continental Cement.
Kathy likes wallpaper, so she enjoyed planning each room’s colors and coordinating the paper with painting woodwork and finding locations for their many antiques. “I go to yard sales and redo antiques,” she explained.
She also striped and refinished the floors, discovering the original wood floors are pine, which is “difficult to keep clean.”
She enjoys planning each project and doing the physical work, at times having some help.
An antique doll adorning one bed was a gift from Kirk on their first Christmas together.
Among their antiques is a dry sink, located near the front entrance. A treadle sewing machine formerly owned by Kirk’s grandmother decorates a guest bedroom, which also has an antique baby bed that gets a lot of use.
Kathy noted that with five married children between them, plus grandchildren, she and Kirk often have overnight guests. And they have many large family gatherings. “He has 30 in his family and I have 30 in mine.”

Tiled tabletop
is popular project
One project has attracted lots of attention - Kathy copied a tiled tabletop she saw on a home and garden TV program. This small round table is in her breakfast nook, and she added antique chairs.
She made the tile tabletop in two days - using ceramic tiles that were broken up and grouted. Several people who have seen her table and learned how she did it have made their own tables, she said.
One bedroom became Kirk’s office, and it features many trophies from his softball-playing and coaching days, including state championship trophies. He is still active in softball, now using part of his large yard to teach youngsters how to pitch, as described in a Sept. 10 Courier-Post article.
Kathy’s latest improvement was adding a whirlpool tub in the basement. A playroom used by their grandchildren now occupies one side of the basement, and later she may do a renovation there, including the fireplace.

Quilt honors
parents’ marriage
A large quilt of photos and words describing them adorns one wall. It was made for Kathy’s parents, Pete and Dorothy Johann, for their 40th wedding anniversary. Kathy’s sister, the late Debbie Spurling, planned the quilt, and Kathy finished it. Its sections feature memorable years in her parents’ marriage. “It starts with them getting married in 1950, and it has the next 40 years of their life,” Kathy said. There are sections for the births of each of their children and grandchildren, along with marriages.
“Mom gave it back to me three or four years ago,” Kathy said. “It means the world to me.”
Her mother died two years ago, and the Wilsons have added a memorial flower garden to honor her.
Their property now has more than 100 new trees, including an orchard with peaches, apples, pears and cherries.
“At our house next door we had a huge orchard, so we planted the orchard here,” Kathy said.
They also added a fishpond and picnic area, and the yard has several flower gardens or various sizes and shapes, with a rainbow of color in any direction.
People often stop when they discover the house has been relocated there, Kathy said. She is pleased to welcome them to this local landmark.